Blood Ties

by Jane A. Adams

  ‘I can imagine something like this would have worn anyone down,’ Blezzard said. ‘It would have been easier on him if he’d come and confessed. Served his time, been out of jail again by now.’

  ‘He got locked in,’ Alec said. ‘Set the course of action that first day and couldn’t see a way back out. I think Eddy did the same, though for Eddy this became the thing that kept him going. It makes you think, doesn’t it?’

  ‘In particular?’

  ‘Well, if Eddy hadn’t died the night. If he’d had to go on living in a world with no James Symonds, no one left to blame or to persecute, how long do you think he’d have carried on? So, what now. Can we take this lot back with us?’

  ‘I can take this lot back with me, if that’s what you mean.’

  Alec chuckled. ‘Force of habit. That’s what I meant, of course.’

  They waited while a uniformed officer listed and tagged the material Blezzard would be taking away, then, armed with a half-dozen evidence bags, they turned back for home.

  ‘You’d better call that wife of yours,’ Blezzard said. ‘Stop at the next services and I’ll get us both a coffee.’

  Alec nodded, abruptly aware that he really needed one. He was weary now, as tired as he’d been when he’d first driven down here. The work tiredness he had hoped to leave behind was once more enveloping him, bringing home to him just how much he really was ready for a change.

  At the services just outside of Bristol they stopped and Alec tried Naomi’s phone, got no reply. He tried Susan’s, thinking they would still be at The Lamb, and again received no reply.

  Kevin picked up. ‘No,’ he said. ‘They left about an hour ago. Susan was still upset and Naomi suggested she’d be better off at home. The policewoman left and I promised to hang on here until the evening staff arrived. She can’t afford not to open tonight, so I’m just holding the fort.’

  ‘So, Naomi is at the B&B?’

  ‘No, sorry, she left with Susan. She said to tell you to pick her up from there when you got back. I think you’ve got a very expensive dinner to buy,’ he added slyly.

  ‘Oh, I’d bet on it. Thanks, Kevin. Give me the address, will you, and do you have the phone number?’

  Alec wrote them down, accepted a large takeaway coffee cup from Blezzard, who’d just come back to the car.

  ‘Problem?’ Blezzard asked.

  ‘Susan and Naomi have gone to Susan’s place. Neither is picking up the phone. Susan’s probably driving and Naomi’s phone is probably in the bottom of her bag and her bag somewhere on the back seat. I’ll try Susan’s home phone; they might be there by now.’

  No response there either.

  ‘They might have gone for a coffee or a walk or something,’ Blezzard said, but he could see Alec was concerned. ‘Look, I’ll get someone to swing by, just to make sure.’

  Alec nodded his thanks and started the engine; the strongest feeling that something was very wrong had settled on his shoulders. ‘Here,’ he said, passing Blezzard the phone number for Susan’s flat. ‘Keep trying, will you?’

  ‘Alec, I’m sure they’re fine.’

  ‘Are you? Well, humour me. Please.’

  Blezzard shrugged. ‘Consider yourself humoured,’ he said. ‘I’ll get Dean to call round too,’ he added, and Alec looked sharply in his direction.

  ‘So, you’re sure they’re fine, are you?’

  Blezzard shrugged again. ‘Doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan, does it?’

  TWENTY-NINE

  ‘Are you sure you’re OK to drive? We can ask Kevin . . .?’

  ‘No, I’ll be fine. You’re right, I will be better off at home. Thanks for coming with me, though.’

  ‘You don’t know it’s him,’ Naomi reinforced.

  ‘Well, who else is it going to be in Brian’s car? I don’t get it, though, he was a good driver. How fast would he have to go for the car to blow up or whatever it did?’

  Naomi said nothing. Susan seemed unable to even countenance the idea that Brian’s death was not accidental, and no one had pushed the other theory – that the cause was more sinister – but Naomi had heard it in Blezzard’s voice. Had felt it in Alec’s attitude. Something wasn’t right. Something in the way the car had burned, perhaps, which told them this wasn’t a matter of a crash followed by the tank exploding.

  On the back seat Napoleon huffed and snored. ‘At least he’s happy,’ Susan said, almost managing a laugh.

  ‘He has a contented nature,’ Naomi agreed. ‘And pretty basic needs really. Uncomplicated.’

  ‘Pity humans can’t be more like dogs. Oh, God, another funeral to arrange.’

  Maybe they can do a two for one, Naomi thought, then chastised herself for flippancy and felt relief that she’d not said that out loud. Alec would have understood this need to break the tension; she doubted Susan would. ‘Surely this one won’t be down to you? Doesn’t Brian have family?’

  ‘He has a mother, but she lives abroad and he’s not had much to do with her since she remarried. He didn’t approve of her choice.’ She laughed harshly. ‘God, but for a man with the morals of an alley cat, boy, could he be judgemental.’

  ‘No siblings?’

  ‘No, he was an only child, which probably explains a lot.’

  ‘Alec was an only child,’ she said blandly.

  ‘Oh, I didn’t mean . . . Only that . . .’

  ‘I know. Sorry, couldn’t resist.’

  ‘Oh.’

  Silence that was suddenly spiked with frost descended and Naomi groaned inwardly, wondering if it was too late to change her mind and to ask to be driven back to the B&B. Maybe she could feign a migraine or something. Instead she took refuge in sympathy again. ‘Do you have someone you can call, maybe go and stay with for a few days?’

  ‘Yeah, I suppose that might be a good idea. I’ll have a think about it, but there’s the pub to run and—’

  ‘And you were telling me what good staff you’ve got. They’d cope.’

  ‘I suppose they would.’ The thought seemed to deflate her even more.

  ‘Just for a few days, anyway,’ Naomi added. Lord, her tact seemed to be failing on her today . . . or was this just perverseness on Susan’s part? Was she determined to take everything the wrong way? She reminded herself that Susan hadn’t exactly had an easy time of it lately. She deserved a bit of a wallow.

  ‘We’re here,’ Susan said, sounding relieved. She waited for the traffic to clear and then made a sharp turn into the car park. ‘I’ll just park up.’ She steered carefully into her space and switched the engine off.

  Right, Naomi thought. Hurry up and come back, Alec. I need a good dose of sanity and normality here.

  Behind them a car engine sputtered into life. ‘Should we get Napoleon out first and then you or . . . What!’

  ‘Doesn’t matter much. If there isn’t much room then it’s probably easier if I—’

  ‘Oh God!’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s Gavin.’

  The sound of the car engine, Naomi realized, had got louder. She’d registered it behind them, had assumed the car was turning or heading out of the car park. Now, she understood, it was directly behind Susan’s car. ‘Stay calm, lock the doors and—’

  Too late for that. The passenger door was jerked open and a strong, bony hand seized her by the arm. ‘Get out,’ Gavin said. ‘You’d better get out too,’ he told Susan.

  ‘Stay where you are and call the police,’ Naomi told her, trying to keep as calm as she could.

  ‘I said get out.’ A sharp point and the feel of cold metal against her throat.

  ‘Better do as he says,’ she said grudgingly. ‘Gavin, this is a really stupid thing to do, you know that, don’t you?’

  ‘Just do as you’re told. I don’t need an opinion.’

  Naomi got out of the car, telling an anxiously whining Napoleon that he should stay. The last thing she wanted was to risk harm to the big black dog. She could hear Susan, whimpering and fearful, and
a sudden wave of impatience overwhelmed her. For God’s sake, woman, I’m the one with the knife at her throat!

  Actually, that qualified not just for impatience but for downright anger.

  Naomi had been in tight spots before and against far more experienced and competent assailants than Gavin. She could feel his shaking, hear the tense, short breaths, and knew he really hadn’t thought this through. He’d probably expected Susan to come back alone; Naomi was not part of the plan. She knew that what made the likes of Gavin dangerous was that they were totally unpredictable. Scared and overwhelmed, there was no telling what they might do in the heat of the moment.

  ‘Gavin, I’m not going anywhere, how about you put the knife down?’ She tried very hard to sound calm; succeeded, she felt, only in sounding slightly strangled. The blade was cold against her skin and the hand that held it trembling so violently there was a real danger he might cut her without even meaning to.

  Gavin tugged on her arm. Stretching out her fingers she could feel the glass in the windows of Susan’s car. She remembered the care with which the other woman had parked and guessed there was only a small gap between this and the neighbouring vehicle. Experimentally, she pushed back against Gavin, pretending to stumble as he tugged on her arm. He moved, but only a little, barked at her to ‘watch it’ and confirmed her guess about the small space. If she could get Susan to run, to get help, maybe they could gain back some control. Question was, would Susan take the hint?

  Of course, there was always the danger that should Susan flee, Gavin would take it out on her, but Naomi thought it was worth the gamble. She couldn’t resolve this alone and she didn’t rate Susan as a useful companion in peril. The other woman was crying now; Naomi, uncharitably perhaps, was finding the sound just a bit annoying. She could well imagine that Gavin, nerves already stretched taut, would be even more irritated by it.

  Gavin moved crabwise, dragging Naomi with him. ‘Get in my car,’ he told Susan. ‘Get in my bloody car.’

  Now or never, Naomi thought.

  She reached out for Susan’s car, then shoved back against Gavin, jerking her head away from the knife. She felt the painful crack as the back of her head hit his chin, felt him lose balance, just enough. She pulled sideways, against the pressure of his hand on her arm and shouted at Susan, ‘Run, dammit, get help, just bloody run.’

  ‘I can’t!’

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. ‘Susan. Run!’

  Gavin had already recovered, tightening his hold on her and pressing the blade more tightly against her skin. She felt the prick and cut and the blood run, tried not to think about it. Tried to listen out for what Susan may have decided to do. Heard shuffling steps and then running feet, but she knew the moment was lost.

  ‘Get in the bloody car, or so help me I will kill her.’ Gavin’s voice cracked and Naomi cursed inwardly. She heard the car door open. ‘Driver’s side,’ Gavin barked. ‘And you, in the back, and I swear, so help me, you try anything again and one of you is dead. I don’t need both.’

  He pushed Naomi forward, twisting her arm painfully behind her back. There was a second when the pressure from the knife released as he reached the car door handle, but it wasn’t long enough for Naomi to act. He pushed her inside on to the back seat and slammed the door shut. Naomi curled there for a moment, shocked and angry; she heard the front passenger door slam and Gavin snap at Susan to drive. She guessed the blade would now be threatening the other woman. She struggled into sitting position and felt for the door handle, only to find that Gavin had the child locks on. The handle wouldn’t move.

  Susan stalled twice before they managed to drive away, Gavin’s mounting fury destroying what was left of her capacity to think. Somehow, she managed to get it moving on the third attempt and they lurched out of the car park. Hopefully, she’d be stopped for dangerous driving, Naomi thought bleakly. What do we do now? she wondered. Correction, what did she do?

  Her bag, her mobile, everything was still in the back of Susan’s car. She felt around on the back seat but found nothing that might be of use. She worried about Napoleon, also in the back of Susan’s car, grateful that at least it wasn’t hot weather, but even so; they never left him alone in the car. He’d be distraught. No, he wouldn’t, she corrected herself, he’d go to sleep. Wouldn’t he?

  When would Alec get back with DI Blezzard? Would he come looking for her? Of course he would, but how on earth could she let him know where they were going when she didn’t even know?

  ‘Where are you taking us?’ she asked as calmly as she could.

  ‘Just drive,’ Gavin said. ‘And you, keep quiet.’

  He doesn’t know either, Naomi thought. He really is making this up as he goes along. He’s abducted us but now he has no idea where to go.

  A call came through to DI Blezzard from Sergeant Dean just as they came off the motorway and turned right towards Bridgewater at the large island.

  ‘Find somewhere to spin us round,’ Blezzard instructed. ‘We need to be heading back the other way.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘A disturbance at the flats where Susan Rawlins lives. A man with dark-brown hair was seen forcing two women into a red hatchback. Susan’s car is in the car park; your wife’s dog is still inside.’

  ‘Gavin.’ Alec spotted the entrance to a factory unit, dived in and U-turned. ‘How much of a head start does he have?’

  ‘Fifteen minutes at most. Dean’s got the CCTV people involved; we’ll pick them up.’

  ‘Not if they head into the countryside, you won’t.’

  ‘No, but there aren’t many places to hide out on the Levels. You know how flat it is.’ Blezzard tried to sound confident. ‘You want me to drive?’

  ‘No, I can manage, just don’t expect me to keep to the speed limit.’

  Blezzard said nothing. Alec put his foot down. Fifteen minutes was a long time at seventy miles an hour, even at fifty. Who was driving, he wondered. Gavin or Susan? Probably Susan; it’s hard to keep control of someone when you’ve got your hands full with steering wheel and gear changes.

  ‘Alec, you’re doing eighty. Slow it down; there’s a stack of sharp bends ahead.’

  Alec slowed to seventy. Took the bends and then accelerated again as the road straightened and rose steeply.

  ‘Alec! We end up wrapped round a tree, that won’t help anyone. Slow it down!’

  Reluctantly, Alec saw sense. Blezzard was on the phone again speaking to Dean. He was at the flats.

  Napoleon, recognizing Dean as familiar, if nothing else, was making a fuss of him, Blezzard reported, and Naomi’s bag was still in the car, as was Susan’s. Witnesses said the man had a knife, that one of the women struggled with him and the other started to run but then got into the car. She, the blonde one, was driving the car.

  Alec nodded. Turning into High Street, past the shopping village and into the town centre. The flats, another quarter of a mile on, were wedged in-between older buildings, their approach a narrow entrance that widened into a car park in front of the modern, purpose built apartments. Alec saw Susan’s car parked in a numbered parking bay. Visitors’ spaces had been set aside on the opposite wall. Gavin must have parked there.

  Getting out of the car and glancing around, Alec noticed security cameras above the door. He pointed. ‘Do we have access?’

  Dean appeared at the entrance door and beckoned. Napoleon thrust his large head out beside his knee and woofed happily. Alec fussed him.

  ‘The building supervisor arrived a few minutes ago. He’s sorting out the CCTV. We’ve picked them up heading out of High Street and again on the CCTV near the supermarket. One camera just catches them. After that, of course . . .’

  ‘We’re out in open country.’

  ‘I’ve got six cars out; there’s only so many ways they could have gone. He’ll be looking for somewhere to hole up.’

  ‘Eddy’s place?’

  ‘I’ve got someone there, and the scientific support won’t have finished yet either
.’

  ‘Pull them out, fast,’ Blezzard instructed. ‘Get everyone out of sight, now. He doesn’t know the area, so we’ve just got to hope he heads for somewhere familiar. Where do you think you’re going?’ Blezzard demanded as Alec started back towards the car.

  ‘Eddy’s cottage.’

  ‘Oh, no, you don’t. Look, see sense. I’ve just pulled our lot back so we don’t spook him. If he goes there we’ll soon know. If not then you’ll be running round the Levels like some headless chicken and if I need you in a hurry . . . First we look at the tapes, see what we can glean from that. Once we know what we’re dealing with we act on it, you understand? You’ll do no good chasing shadows out there.’

  Alec clenched both fists and then relaxed them, consciously, trying to regain some level of control. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Blezzard was right, of course, even though Alec’s every instinct to protect, every desire, told him he should be out there looking. The one compensation in all of this was that Gavin didn’t know the Levels well. He had a limited choice of where to go and how to get there.

  ‘What if he heads for Bristol, for his dad’s place?’

  ‘Then he’ll have to head back towards the motorway and we’ll pick him up.’

  ‘What if he changes cars?’

  ‘Not easy with two women to control.’

  Especially not if one of them is Naomi, Alec added silently. She would not take any of this kindly. He wasn’t at this point sure if that was a good thing or not.

  ‘OK,’ he agreed reluctantly.

  Dean led them through to the office and the supervisor, who was already searching through the digital tapes. It didn’t take long for him to pinpoint the incident they wanted. Gavin had waited for almost an hour before the women had arrived. Parked in the visitors’ space, he had clearly been settled in for as long as it took.